Inspired by the principles of Malcolm X / Malik El-Hajj Shabazz. A 'Third Worldist' perspective focusing on the increasing pace of south-south co-operation which is challenging and defeating neo-colonial hegemony, and the struggles of those oppressed by neo-colonialism and white supremacy (racism) who fight for their social, political and cultural freedom 'by any means necessary'

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Wednesday, 20 July 2016

The Challenges for Immigrant and Poor Communities Going Forward, or: After / Beyond / Aside from Corbyn and the Labour Party?

By Sukant ChandanSons of Malcolm
20 July, 2016

African, Asian, non-white, Immigrant and Black people need to appreciate that the LP is a non-force right now, its in a log jam that may never be released, we are looking at the LP being non-functional for the foreseeable future. It is not and not about to provide any space for strategic opposition. The general election is in 2020, thats FOUR years away, as things are going thats a real political age away. Are we really going to be bogged down and distracted from growing challenges of racism, sexism and attacks on the working class and instead solely focused in internal LP mess?

I would put it to you that we need to think beyond Corbyn, beyond the confines of the LP which is just not serving any purpose right now in the context of a growing right and far right threat, growing fascism and all that comes with it. We need to start thinking about a serious political vehicle for poor and Black communities.

The English white left cannot build it, some sections of them can be a helpful and assisting part to it, but they cannot build it cos there is too much internalised colonialism in their heads, and they just can't build a strategic serious political project, as they haven't for around 30 years.

The Black and immigrant communities are very politically weak, scattered, and are dragged constantly into an internal LP/PLP conflict, a conflict that is doing nothing for them/us but dragging us away from our communities into a spat that will result in nothing for them other than a split LP (the LP is split anyway now, just not formally). If there was any sign of that this internal LP/PLP conflict would bring about something strategically better for us, than I would support it even while recognising that the LP/PLP is at the same time institutionally, historically, ethically and in its political framework of being a thoroughly racist and colonial entity.

Sooner or later, assuming Immigrant communities have a future of existence in this country (ie., we are not all thrown into camps and partially expelled and partially killed off, frankly this is looking increasingly likely), we will have to build a viable political vehicle like the Irish have done with Sinn Fein, the Scots with the SNP, and Welsh with Plaid. Hopefully will build something even better! But building something viable and strategic is a challenge before us, much more and increasingly more pressing since colonial social democracy (the LP is the main manifestation of social democracy in england) ended in circa 1991-1994, and especially more since 2008, more so since the exportation of colonial fascism project which was the Arab Sting 2011, and even more since Brexit 2016.

Social democracy is a .massive part of the culture of the people of this island. It is a political culture that has embedded left colonialism, or a brit white workers colonialism into the mass culture of this country. It is not east to budge. But the experience of SF (who sidelined the SDLP), Plaid and SNP show that Labour loyalty needn't be for all eternity. At the same time, those examples have dealt witht he primary issue of colonialism and racism as a primary issue more so than the english left have do so to date, and no sign that the Corbyn camp will address this either. The Corbyn camp and elements in the LP/PLP can assist our communities in some tactical and even strategic ways, but this currently increasingly high stakes gamble and risk-taking on Corbyn and the LP/PLP is not helping us.

Of course, any such strategic move towards building a new political vehicle for Immigrant and poor communities is offset by too much obsession with the current spat in the LP/PLP. However, Immigrant communities will continue to be targeted and attacked, as will the English white workers but the latter will and are turning their anger towards Immigrants not the ruling classes.

To build this you need a core group of at least 50 if not 100 well organised cadre. They then need to be split into several core areas of long term 'mass line' building, which is taking our decolonial socialist politics and engaging with a specific Immigrant and poor locality, finding out what the demands of the people are according to our decolonial socialist politics, and working on the long term to serve our people in the framework, struggle with them and organise communities. After long term work, it will have to show it can battle politically and win, which means standing in elections and winning while militantly guarding against the corrupting nature of elections under this system.

Yes, we are nowhere near this at all, and the longer we don't address this absence of political strategy, the more our communities are in danger of total all our fascist war against us which is now in sight. If we do not build this, we will be wiped out. Several months ago I would have said to you that Immigrant and non-white communities in europe are secure and we will not be chased out, that we won our right to 'here to stay here to fight'. Considering the massive and on-going rise of the right and far right across the west and europe, considering the increasingly weak capacity of Immigrant and Black communities, my reading is that we are in a really precarious situation increasingly going forward, and unless people don't wake up NOW and work very hard, our future here is slipping away fast.

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